Google Needs Data to Improve Search

Google revealed a little more today about how the company’s mysterious search algorithm works. In order to keep improving search – and making sure that you get the results that you want – Google will have to learn more about you. Both general research information, such as data about how people on aggregate respond to certain results, and more personal information, like what area you want to find restaurants in when you search for “restaurants,” will be essential to the future of search.

As Google pointed out in its comments to the FTC’s proposed behavioral ad rules, better search may never come about if the government regulates what can be done with the data that internet users voluntarily send to websites like Google.